Study: RP is World's 17th Happiest Country

[samsungster]

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Study: RP is world's 17th happiest country

LONDON - The Philippines is the 17th happiest country in the world, according to a study published Wednesday measuring people's wellbeing and their impact on the environment.

The Philippines bested more than 160 countries in the Happy Planet Index including Indonesia (23), China (31), Thailand (32), Malaysia (44), India (62), Iceland (64), The Netherlands (70), Spain (87), Hong Kong (8, Denmark (99), Norway (115), Sweden (119), Finland (123) and Australia (129).

The index, compiled by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation (NEF), combines life satisfaction, life expectancy and environmental footprint -- the amount of land required to sustain the population and absorb its energy consumption.

The index chose the tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu as the happiest country on Earth. Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama complete the top five.

Zimbabwe came bottom of the 178 countries ranked, below second-worst performer Swaziland, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine.

The Group of Eight industrial powers meet in Saint Petersburg this weekend but have not much to smile about, according to the index.

Italy came out best in 66th place, ahead of Germany (81), Japan (95), Britain (10, Canada (111), France (129), the United States (150) and Russia, in lowly 172nd place.

Andrew Simms, NEF's policy director, said the index "addresses the relative success or failure of countries in giving their citizens a good life while respecting the environmental resource limits on which all our lives depend."

Nic Marks, the head of NEF's center for wellbeing, added: "It is clear that no single nation listed in the Happy Planet Index has got everything right.

"But the index does reveal patterns that show how we might better achieve long and happy lives for all, whilst living within our environmental means," he said, according to British daily The Guardian.

"The challenge is: can we learn the lessons and apply them?"

Island nations performed particularly well in the rankings. But Vanuatu, with a population of around 200,000, topped them all.

"Don't tell too many people, please," said Marke Lowen of Vanuatu Online, the republic's online newspaper.

"People are generally happy here because they are very satisfied with very little," he told The Guardian.

"This is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It's a place where you don't worry too much."

"The only things we fear are cyclones or earthquakes." AFP

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=44155

[Sanosuke]

True....

Even if our country is poor, sometimes you cannot buy happiness..

[tackielarla]

Well this is something we can definitely smile about...

[iloveyou4ever]

Ahak, we should be happy with this. We are rich in happiness even wa tay makaon. Hehe

[wikki]

how about just plain stupid to realize that we have no future based on the fact that our country is like this and still going down.

[edgeknife]

u know, one thing ako ma-describe sa mga Filipino people: JOLLY. :mrgreen:

mao nang malipayun jud ta, unlike other countries.

[omad]

I hope it's not being happy like "napraning" kay walay gikaon.. :mrgreen:

kidding aside, it's a positive mark for our country. but knowing which countries got the top 5 spots: Vanuatu, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama -- makes me think that happiness is what poor / fair (as far as economy) countries treasure.

like the adage goes "bahalag saging basta labing". :mrgreen:

[craz_beautiful_ava]

we laugh out our misery..

[wikki]

therefore we are nuts, and dumb as hell. we should really learn from our mistakes, its never to late.

[dexterdal]

ahak d ko motoo ani ilang survey, pro hinuon kasagaran pinoy pa happy happy nalang, kay kuwang man ang uban ug kaon.....